How beautiful is this cover? Really looking forward to sharing this beauty with the world – out in late April.
Edited by Rebecca M Newman and me, illustrated by the divine Briony Stewart , published by Fremantle Press and with poems from established and emerging Western Australian poets, is a feast of poetry for young readers – readers of any age, really.
Available for preorder now from your favourite local bookstore or online.
Can’t wait to share more with you!
Did you know that today is World Poetry Day? Well, you do now!
Why do we need a day to celebrate poetry – well, because although we need poetry every day, marking a special day reminds us of its importance, and its commonality – as the UNESCO site says, poetry is ‘one of humanity’s most treasured forms of cultural and linguistic expression and identity’.
Poetry makes us laugh, cry, think, express things we find hard to express, connect with other experiences, and so much more.
But, poetry is often seen by people who don’t know better as something hard, or something elite, or something that is somehow frivolous. It can be each of these things, but I am here to remind you that if its hard or elite then you can look elsewhere for poetry that is accessible. And as for frivolity, though not all poetry is frivolous, a bit of frivolity is a wonderful thing. At a time when the world is really hard for many people, moments of frivolity or joy can remind us of WHY we need to fight for change.
On that note, I made a little video for today, shared on Instagram, including a somewhat frivolous poem. I hope you enjoy it!
View this post on Instagram
How fortunate I am feeling after a whirlwind trip to the Gold Coast to attend the Primary English Teacher Association of Australia (PETAA) Conference.
The conference featured a line up of academics, educators and creators all passionate about building writing skills in and out of the classroom through pleasure, purpose and pedagogy. I filled notebooks, soaked up new learning, talked, laughed and made new friends while also spending time with long standing ones (including my big sister). Here I am, just before I spoke, trying to blend in with the Storybox banner in my fabulous Jericho Road dress.
I was tasked with delivering the closing keynote and shared the value of using verse novels as mentor texts and more. Although I used my own as examples, I hope I also got across the message that there are a plethora of gold standard verse novels educators can use.
I was particularly pleased that the analogy I used to talk about mentor texts allowed me to talk about my beloved Fremantle Dockers, and especially David Mundy. It isn’t a Sally Murphy presentation if I can’t sneak in some mention of Freo. I also managed to make people laugh, cry and nod their heads approvingly (not all at the same time).
I’m back at my desk today, filled with determination to keep doing what I do, to ensure that young Australians have books (and poetry!) in their hands, homes and classrooms, and that educators have the tools to make sure this happens.
To that end, if you’d like me to visit your school, festival or professional learning event, let me know.
To add to yesterday’s end-of-school-year poem, here’s another from my files, which I’ve posted on my blog before.
We sing of jingle bells and snow
Of warm red suits and ho ho ho
But none of this is quite the way
When it is Christmas here below
Downunder in good old Aussieland
It’s time for sun and surf and sand
It’s hot, not cold, it’s summertime
And summer treats are in demand.
Hard work for reindeer in this heat
Hot roofs would burn their tender feet
And racing through the summer skies
Would soon see them feeling beat.
And as for Santa in fur and such
He’d soon feel overdressed a touch
Being snug and warm in blistering heat
Is not likely to impress him much.
Santa needs roos for the job
Of sleigh-pulling – an Aussie mob
To get him moving all around
From Sydney town to Iron Knob.
His suit, too, needs an overthrow
A new outfit, from head to toe
Some boardies, a singlet and some thongs
Would seem to be the way to go.
So let’s not sing of snow and ice
Instead I’ll give you this advice
Roos, utes and summer are the go
For Christmas songs that sound real nice.
So ripper, bonza, beudy strewth
Though you might think my song uncouth
It’s true blue and its ridgy didge
To sing a song that tells the truth.
I am so lucky to have just returned from a visit to the Pilbara region, in the North of Western Australia where, alongside three other creatives, and staff from FORM, I was part of the Scribblers on the Road Festival.
We visited the towns of Port Hedland, Marble Bar and Newman, as well as remote community schools, hoping to spread a love of creativity, and to empower young people to tell their own stories through writing, art and storytelling. It was an amazing journey – over some verrrrrry bumpy roads and through the most stunning red dirt scenery imaginable. You can see some of the things we saw and did in this little video (look out for the bumpy road clip)
All the scenery and the great company on the trip was of course very special, but the highlight was meeting young people willing to have us visit their communities. Even though we were there to share our knowledge, we were also learning from the people we met. I learnt a lot about giving and receiving, about the stories of the children we worked with, about languages other than English, and so much more. But perhaps one of my favourite lessons was from a girl called Matilda, in Marble Bar, who asked me, after I’d run a poetry workshop, why I talked so much.
I do talk A LOT (I have ADHD) but I also value listening, and Matilda’s question led me to ask one of my own. ‘I’m going to listen to you right now,’ I said. ‘What do you want me to know about you?’ Matilda thought about this and, with some help from her friends, started to tell me about the things she likes doing. I sat and listened, but also started writing and, when Matilda had finished, I told her she’d just made up a poem of her own – and she had. I’d simply written it down as she spoke.
Later, I added a title and typed it up and, with now, with Matilda’s permission here it is:
You Should Know That
Salted plum lollies,
playing on my phone,
going swimming
or down to the river,
walking around
annoying people
playing basketball
going to the pool
or driving really fast
are all
much
much
much
better than school!
By Matilda and Sally
Thank you Matilda for reminding me of the importance of being quiet long enough to hear what is important to the people you meet, and for being willing to let me share your poem with the world.
I am home now in the South West, feeling a little cold 9winter is here! but also with lifelong memories of the amazing Pilbara to keep me warm. And, because it is now Friday, I am sharing this post with the Poetry Friday community – a group of poets and poetry lovers from all over the world who share poetry every Friday. If you want to check it out, Denise is sharing a round up.
Bonjour! As I write this I am in France, though by the time you read it I will have landed in London.
How lucky am I?
I am here in Europe as part of my six months Academic Study Leave (also known as a sabbatical) from my role at Curtin University. Although some days it feels like a holiday, I have been working:
First, I attended the Child and the Book Conference in Rouen where I presented a paper about juvenilia, and listened to many other wonderful speakers talk about children’s books, and creativity and so much more. I also made new friends from around the world.
Then, after a few days in Paris where, among other things, I went to the top floor of the Eiffel Tower, I headed south to a small village near Carcassonne, where I stayed in a French farmhouse for a writing retreat, curated and hosted by The French House Party and guided by amazing tutor, poet and all round nice person, Anne Caldwell. We wrote, talked, walked, were fed (so much wonderful food) and laughed. And, as with the conference, I made new friends from around the world.
I have two notebooks overflowing with notes, drafts and ideas from these two events, and still two weeks of travel left. In the meantime, a poem. If you have never been to France before you might be surprised at my obsession with cheese over these past weeks. I’ve always liked cheese, but when you are in a country where cheese (good cheese!) is part of every meal, it can become a bit of a focus. In fact, at one meal I skipped the main course and happily ate bread and cheese because it was just so good.
So, in the midst of a session where I was writing some pretty heavy stuff, I found myself pausing to jot down a little ditty about my obsession.
Simple Pleasures
Stinky stilton
bonkers blue-vein
holey-moley swiss.
Oozy camembert
crumbling cheddar
easy-cheesy bliss!
Oddly, for all my obsession, I do not have a single photo of cheese amongst the seventy billion I have taken on my trip. So, instead, here is one of the poppy field next to the farm house taken at sunset one evening.
Here’s to cheese, and travel, and learning new things and meeting new people. And, of ceruse, here’s to poetry! Patricia is hosting Poetry Friday today, and you can see the Round Up on her blog.